Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game HOW DO TELL A BULL ELK TRACK FROM A COW ELK TRACK?

Elk tracks.

How do you tell the difference between a Cow and a Bull.

I was just thinking that it might be helpful to some new/old elk hunters to be able to identify a cow elk track from a bull....How to YOU tell the difference when you didn't see what made it?

More later.

Prospector

EVERY TUB HAS TO SIT ON ITS OWN BOTTOM.

Similar to telling a buck track from a doe track. It's not 100%, but it's a very good indicator. On a clear track that hasn't slid in mud or snow or come off a bank, look at the size of the track. It's a rare cow that has as big a hoof as a medium to large bull. The toes (what's the term I'm looking for here?) also tend to be slightly more pointed and wider spread. The splaying has to do with distribution of mass on the animal. A big bull or buck will carry a disproportionate amount of mass over the front legs, especially during the rut.

By what's standing in them <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

A bulls' track is usually wider than a cow, more rounded. Whereas a cow's is thinner and more pointed in front.

F.Y.I. How to Determine Bull Elk Tracks. Follow up.

A Cow Elk and a Woman have one thing in common that men don't have. Wide Hips (for birthing little critters). Because of this, when looking at an elk track, if the top track is on the outside of the bottom track, its usually a cow (Wide Hips).

Conversely, If the top track is on the inside of the bottom track, it's usually a bull (Narrow Hips). However, it could sometimes be a young cow. The size of the track can aid in determining between those two.

This isn't an exact science, but it has proven an effective way to know if your on a bull or cow track about 80% of the time, in my experience.

Prospector

EVERY TUB HAS TO SIT ON ITS OWN BOTTOM.

Prospector, good idea!
My buddy and I've been doing a little scouting in Western Washington and the bull prints are pretty obvious by all the above. We were bushwacking with the horses a couple of weeks ago and saw a few tracks that rivaled the horses for weight! I can close my eyes and picture that big boy!
I would add that they seem much more solitary than the cows, also. We've been finding pretty isolated bull tracks. Which goes with what the local residents are telling us. They don't see too many bulls with the cows until it is rutting time!
One guy told us two years ago he had a big 6x7 laying in his yard that didn't seem to care that he was mowing his lawn with his riding mower less than 10yds away. (His land is right next to a major freeway, by a river and next to a lot of protected land. The elk know a safe zone when they find it!)
Anyway, a maturing bull is a BIG animal. The tracks will reflect that.
Tom Brown's tracking books are a pretty good source for improving your tracking skills. A good piece of dirt in your yard makes a pretty darn good "sand box".
I've even started keeping an eye on my own tracks around camp during the hunting season to get a better idea on how tracks are "aging" in that environment.
It is frustrating when you find relatively recent tracks and can't find any animals. As my friend Elkermarty says, "They can't fly!"

look at the inside of the track, cows are rounded inside bulls usually are more of a straight line.